Zucchini Breakfast Bread (dairy free, nut free)

This morning I had the pleasure of attending a local meeting run by Moira from Northern Suburbs Organic Group (see here) on learning about bush foods … I decided to take along the Zucchini Breakfast Bread to share with others whilst enjoying a cuppa because it is such a cold day here. After the meeting I was so surprised to have Moira ask for the recipe which she is going to pass onto others because it was so well received.

This is why I love doing what I do (sharing recipes) … I come from a large family that is spread right across Australia. I am the only one in Perth so by sharing recipes I feel a connection to anyone that is keen or interested in them, and it allows me to feel part of a “local” family if I can call it that. This is what sharing is all about, and I just love the community we are all part of here in Perth (such an awesome city to live in!).

So … onto the recipe.

I am always checking into foodie websites that I respect and Food 52 is definitely one of those. They have a “community” philosophy of sharing recipes which I love, so they have many people who contribute their favourites to the website. Last week I saw this recipe by Emma Laperruque, and it appealed to me because it is more “bread like” with minimal sugar making it a better breakfast option to many sweet banana bread recipes that are more “cake like”. A slice of this is great for a quick breakfast (with a cuppa!) if time is short, makes a great morning or afternoon tea snack, and would be terrific for school lunch boxes as it is nut free.

For the original version see here … it can easily be made using just one mixing bowl, but I have chosen to use my Thermomix as it is quicker for me to grate the zucchini in it, and I then continued to mix in the other ingredients in the Thermomix so that I still only had one bowl to wash up at the end of it.

I have replaced the sugars with unrefined Golden Caster Sugar and Light Muscovado Sugar, but you can use plain caster sugar and brown sugar if you prefer. I also replaced the flour with a mix of white and wholemeal spelt flours, and I omitted the walnuts due to nut allergy in my family.

In terms of fruit I choose to use Persian Green Raisins which I get from The Spice Library in Midland (see here) … I love their products … it is a local family that make a lot of their own products, and these are organic green raisins which have been naturally sun-dried. I wanted to use these as I love their green hue, and as they are smaller than normal raisins I knew they would allow me to cut better slices of the bread without the fruit dragging its way through it. As an alternative I would suggest using natural sultanas as they are smaller than normal raisins.

This loaf keeps really well for a few days at room temperature in a sealed container … it is delicious served with a dollop of thick Greek yoghurt on the side, or some labne if you have it. Whilst I haven’t toasted a piece of it yet in the sandwich press, I suspect that would be fabulous too.

Tin prepared ready for batter

Zucchini in ™ bowl …

… and chopped for 2 seconds

Zucchini placed into a tea towel …

… and squeezed to remove excess moisture

Sugars, eggs and olive oil in ™ bowl ..

.. .and blended for a total of 20 seconds

Zucchini returned to bowl …

… and blended on reverse for 5 seconds

Baking powder, bi carb soda and salt added …

… and blended on reverse for 5 seconds

Green raisins, flours and oats added …

… and mixed on reverse for a total of 15 seconds

Batter placed into tin and covered with oats before baking for 1 hour and 10 minutes (in my oven)

Allow loaf to cool in tin for 15 minutes …

… before removing and placing onto a cooling rack to cool completely …

… before cutting and serving

Persian green raisins on the left, natural sultanas in the middle, and normal raisins on the right … note the difference in sizes

This loaf keeps really well for a few days at room temperature in a sealed container ... it is delicious served with a dollop of thick Greek yoghurt on the side, or some labne if you have it. Whilst I haven't roasted a piece of it yet in the sandwich press, I suspect that would be fabulous too.

Author: Gina @ The Passionate Pantry

Serves: 1 loaf

Ingredients

320g zucchini, cut into chunks

70g golden caster sugar, or plain caster sugar

70g light muscovado sugar, or brown sugar

2 x 60g eggs

140g light olive oil

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp bi carb soda

1 tsp sea salt flakes, or ½ tsp fine sea salt

90g white spelt flour, or plain white flour

90g wholemeal spelt flour, or plain wholemeal flour

60g golden raisins, or natural sultanas

30g oats, plus more for topping of loaf

Instructions

Preheat oven to 160 degrees fan forced, and place rack into middle of oven